Artistic Afternoons: Take a photo of fire today. Perhaps you are lighting one in a fireplace or grill, or on a stove, or perhaps simply a candle with flame dancing on its wick (or, if fire is not an option for you, notice where in nature you see something fire-like. Are there red-and-yellow flowers growing nearby or orange-tipped grasses swaying or paper-dry leaves crackling in the breeze?). Whatever form it takes, spend a few moments with it, wondering about fire and its spiritual associations and implications. Where in you are you longing for the warmth or transformation that comes from a nearby fire? Where have you been burned, and now need some healing before getting too close again? How might fire help clear away something—that was perhaps helpful in a season, but now is hampering the process of growth? How might it be melting something in you that had long-ago hardened out of self-protection, opening you like a pinecone ready to release its new life? Wonder with the Spirit in you today about the gifts of fire and its implications for your process and life with God in the world. Then, take your photo (and share it here, if you’d like! So many different bits of flame around the world!). Let it capture some little piece of what you are seeing, or longing for, or afraid of, or wondering about. Let God be with you right there.

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-05-31 20:49:02 UTC